Little Rock, U.S.A. – Arkansas’ largest newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, announced the launch of the state’s first augmented reality newspaper with the release of its free app, PLUS, powered by Aurasma.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is one of the first newspapers in North America and the first in the state to offer an interactive newspaper experience to its readers. Built on Aurasma’s leading augmented reality platform, this exciting, groundbreaking technology brings the physical and virtual worlds together, allowing the reader to use a smart phone or tablet to bring static images to digital life.

By downloading the free Arkansas Democrat-Gazette PLUS app on a mobile device, readers can scan photos and advertisements featuring the PLUS logo and watch compelling interactive content spring to life overtop the printed page. Photos and advertisements become the gateway to the digital world offering a whole new way to discover editorial content or engage with brands. Scanning a photo or ad brings many surprises — videos that engage, graphics that enhance, characters that entertain or inform. Whether it’s watching breaking news throughout the day or viewing highlights from the big game the night before, theArkansas Democrat-Gazette is delivering news and information in a revolutionary fashion with PLUS.

PLUS is available from the App Store and Google Play for iPhones 3Gs (and above), iPad 2 (and above) and Android devices (2.2 and above).

“PLUS has the potential to let our readers get far more out of the printed newspaper pages,” said Walter E Hussman Jr.,publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “It also can give advertisers the ability to deliver more multimedia content with their print advertising, providing extra value to both the advertisers and our readers as consumers.”

“The publishing world is turning a corner and ‘evolutionizing’ the way we consume news and information,” said Jennifer Rapp, general manager at Aurasma. “Aurasma is thrilled that newspapers like the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette are leading the charge by embracing innovation and offering their readers a more interactive, tech-friendly experience when reading the newspaper.”

The first augmented reality edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette will be on newsstands and in homes Sunday, July 1.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s zoned editions as well as its niche publications, Arkansas Life and Sync will also have interactive issues starting in July.

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In a move to protect their right to pursue individual and class action pay and promotion claims against Wal-Mart Stores  more than 500 former and current Wal-Mart women employees who had been part of a national class action lawsuit have filed a charge of discrimination against the retailer with the U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as of Friday, Jan. 27.

That was the deadline for women in five states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina – to pursue their claims, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys Joseph Sellers, Cohen Milstein Sellers& Toll PLLC, and Brad Seligman, the Impact Fund, who represent the women.

The vast majority of the EEOC charges – some 430 – were filed in those states since the June 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing a lower court ruling certifying class action against Wal-Mart. Women in all other states who previously filed class action claims against Wal-Mart, and its subsidiary Sam’s Club, have until May 25, 2012, to file a claim with the EEOC.

“The Supreme Court did not give Wal-Mart a free pass to discriminate.  Filing an EEOC claim is one more way current and former women employees of Wal-Mart can assert their rights,” Sellers and Seligman said in a statement.  More than 12,000 women have contacted plaintiffs’ counsel directly or through the informational website, www.walmartclass.com, to discuss pursuing claims of gender-based pay and promotion discrimination.

Even in the five states with the Jan. 27, 2012, filing deadline, women with pay and promotion discrimination charges against Wal-Mart from July 2011-on can file EEOC claims against the company.

“These EEOC charges are just the down-payment—we expect to file thousands of additional charges by the May 25, 2012 deadline.  We urge women throughout the country who feel they have been discriminated against by Wal-Mart in pay and promotions to log onto the www.walmartclass.com site and register,” said Seligman.

Regional class action lawsuits on behalf of women plaintiffs who worked in California and Texas region Wal-Mart stores were filed in federal courts in those states in October 2011.  An expanded class action was filed in Texas federal court in January 2012.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/

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Living out your dreams can have some limits in a town with 300 people and no stoplights. For Michael Hollinger, Bodie Hope, and Dylan “Rocky” Riley, three young men from Arkansas, the chance to live out one of their dreams became reality and they received the opportunity to meet their long-time hero, Storm Chaser Reed Timmer.

Passion for storm chasing came at a young age for Michael, who enjoys going out and chasing storms with his dad. That enjoyment spurred an immediate draw to the television program in which meteorologist Reed Timmer leads one of three storm-chasing teams, and Bosch is a sponsor.

Bosch held a Twitter “retweet” contest, which Michael entered and won. He later tweeted to Bosch that he works at an auto parts store and has sold Bosch ICON Wiper Blades because he showed customers the Reed Timmer television spot. In the midst of a conversation with Bosch, Michael mentioned, “Me and my friends even advertised Bosch Wiper Blades at a community function when we built the Mini Dominator. We worked hard on it!”

The “Mini-Dom” video became an instant hit with Bosch. The idea was a natural and Bosch worked to create a new video and to introduce Michael and his friends to their idol, Reed Timmer. The idea was for the boys and Bosch to pull a “Switcheroo” where Timmer’s storm chasing vehicle the Dominator would switch with their “Mini-Dom” while Timmer was inside a local convenience store, all scripted, caught on tape, and looking like the ultimate prank.

The “Mini-Dom” was a fun project the boys worked on around Halloween, built with cardboard, PVC pipe, chicken wire, and a 4-wheeler. After Timmer saw the pint-sized Dominator, he was amazed saying, “It has the anemometer and everything, it’s all decked out. You guys really are big fans.”

Michael, Bodie, and Dylan received the opportunity of a lifetime. Two of the boys had never even been on a plane before and now they can say they flew out to Chicago and shot a video with their idol, Reed Timmer. Michael mentions, “This has been a dream come true.”

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Without very much warning, the infamous trio dubbed the “West Memphis 3” was released from a prison in Arkansas on Friday after 17 years. Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin were freed after a complex plea deal, known as Alford pleas, were reportedly entered.

The three men were convicted in 1994 as teenagers of the brutal killings of three 8-year old boys in Robin Hood Hills. Prosecutors alleged that the boys were killed as part of a satanic ritual. According to police, the boys’ bodies were mutilated and left in a ditch. Each had been hogtied with his own shoelaces.  Echols was sentenced to death, Misskelley was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 40 years, and Baldwin was sentenced to life even though no evidence connected the three to the crime.

Over the years, three documentaries have been made on the West Memphis Three, pointing out the inconsistencies in the case. The small town of West Memphis, Arkansas was ill-equipped to handle the triple homicide and, according to some, wanted to pin the murders on someone quickly without doing much investigation.

“They will be free men … on suspended sentence,” prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington told reporters during a Friday press conference about the West Memphis Three. “Only time will tell as to whether this was the right decision.”

DNA testing was not available at the time of the defendants’ trials. In 2007, it was found that DNA collected at the crime scene did not match that belonging to any of the three men. DNA evidence on one of the shoelaces did match one of the victims’ stepfather, who many allege is the true killer. The DNA was not on the shoelaces used to bind his stepson but rather one of the other boys that were murdered.

In November 2010, the state Supreme Court ruled that all three could present new evidence in court.A new court date had been set for December, but on Thursday Judge David Laser ordered all three men transported to Jonesboro for today’s surprise hearing. In a brief statement released to the press, Laser only said that the hearing was to “take up certain matters pertaining to the cases” of the three defendants.

Experts believe that the Alford plea was used. An Alford plea means that the trio maintains their innocence while admitting that there is a substantial likelihood that the jury will convict. Many are speculating that the state wanted to release these men without admitting their mistake. The plea also makes it more difficult for the trio to sue the state over wrongful imprisonment.

“It’s not perfect,” Echols said in a press conference following the hearing. “It’s not perfect by any means but at least it brings closure to some areas and some aspects.”  Echols added that he was “still very much in shock [and] still overwhelmed.”

“We can still bring up new evidence; we can still continue the investigations we [have] been doing,” said Echols. “We can still try to clear our names. The only difference is now we can do it from the outside instead of having to sit in prison and do it.”

But Baldwin said he only took the deal to rescue Echols from death row.

“This was not justice,” Baldwin said. “In the beginning we told nothing but the truth — that we were innocent and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives for it. We had to come here and the only thing the state would do for us is say, ‘Hey we will let you go only if you admit guilt,’ and that is not justice anyway you look it. They’re not out there trying to find who really murdered those boys, and I did not want to take the deal from the get-go. However, they are trying to kill Damien, and sometimes you just got to bite the gun to save somebody.”

John Mark Byers, the father of one of the children killed in 1993, said he believes Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley are innocent, adding that he is angry with the way the pleas are being handled.”This is not right, and the people of Arkansas need to stand up and raise hell. … Just because they admit to this today, it’s not over,” Byers said.

Over the years, the West Memphis Three have had a number of vocal celebrity supporters like Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp, Metallica and the Dixie Chicks.

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It has been a rough year for animals so far, particularly birds and fish.  There have been countless massive and unexplained animal deaths since the year began.  Even some with official explanations still seem questionable.

The New Year began ominously with 5,000 blackbirds literally falling out of the sky is Beebe, Arkansas.  Officials have concluded that fireworks were probably to blame for scaring the birds and causing them to fly into each other and other objects.  But, fireworks are launched at least two times a year in most communities and such a large number of bird deaths are extremely rare.  Following that, it was difficult to keep up with the dying birds.  Large numbers of birds were found dead in Sweden, Italy, Louisiana, Kentucky, and California.   Even just last week, 200 geese in Ohio have died and many more are sick.  Officials have offered a number of explanations for the bird deaths although nothing has been conclusive.  Officials also stress that these occurrences are not connected.   Are the large number of dead birds a normal thing that we have just focused on more or is it something else?

Marine life has also been dying at alarming rates.  Hundreds of thousands of fish were found dead in the Arkansas River, not far from the first bird deaths in Arkansas.  Fish were found dead in Florida, New Zealand, and Illinois.   An estimated 40,000 crabs washed ashore in England during January.  Two million fish were found dead in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.  In Brazil, millions of dead fish washed up on the beach.  Officials blame most of the deaths on cold temperatures.

More recently, some mammals have died in massive numbers.  10,000 cattle died in Vietnam and officials say that cold weather is to blame.  However, the weather wasn’t really that cold and cattle can survive in colder weather.  200 cows died in Wisconsin, but that is one animal death with a definitive answer—the poor cows ate moldy sweet potatoes.   Now, the dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico are turning up dead.  Although, this probably isn’t very mysterious since millions of gallons of oil spilled there last year.  60 dolphins, many newborns, have been found dead in the last month.  Is this all just a normal cycle of nature or is it something else?

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